Learn About - Smile Dentist

Every Mouth Is Different: Oral Hygiene Tailored to You!

No two of us are alike. We all have our own smiles, speech patterns, eye and hair colorings. But we're just now beginning to learn how unique our mouth environments really are. Turns out, they're as distinctively different as fingerprints.

One patient can go a year between checkups, while another might need to return as often as every six weeks for teeth cleaning. The difference? The unique bacterial/chemical mix of each person's mouth. Professionally we call these differences "individualization."

Tartar builders, cavity creators

"Individualization" accounts for the fact that some mouths are genetically and chemically programmed to create tartar buildups, while others barely produce tartar at all. These genetic "signatures" even extend to tooth decay. There are patients who - despite their best efforts - appear cavity susceptible.

Older patients, special needs

Mouths, like people, are affected by years as well as by genes. If you're over 60, your oral chemistry is changing - and thorough examinations of gums and salivary glands can be a lifesaving early detector of oral cancer or other disease.

Patients over 55 develop twice as many cavities as children do. Many times that's because medications seniors take reduce saliva flow and dry the mouth - an open invitation for tooth decay and periodontal disease.

What should you expect from a visit to your dental hygienist? Along with your dental cleaning you may need professional scaling and root planing to remove harmful plaque and calculus deposits. He or she may also record the depths of your periodontal pockets (that space between your teeth and gums where decay and periodontal disease flourish).

Keeping track of you is a key part of the hygienist's job. It includes keeping your dental chart and health history current, making preliminary oral inspections, and creating tooth impressions.

Your hygienist is also an educator - someone who can teach you preventive dentistry skills - brushing and flossing techniques that make for healthy, trouble-free gums and teeth. Together, you two can make an unbeatable team!

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Preventive Dentistry

One of the simplest dental hygiene exercises you can do for yourself is something you've heard before and it bears repeating: floss.

Every 24 hours, bacteria contribute to a new batch of plaque. Brushing, no matter how well done, will not get all the "bugs," especially between teeth and where tooth meets gum tissue. Flossing before or after brushing should be a part of everyone's oral health care program. The kind of floss, waxed, unwaxed, tape, doesn't matter. Just choose the product you're comfortable with, and use it.

Maybe you never quite got the hang of flossing, or are a little out of practice. Here's a quick refresher course.

• Wrap about 18 inches of floss around your fingers; give yourself about five to six taut inches to work with. If the floss frays or builds up with debris, re-loop the floss and keep at it.
• Try starting on the upper molars, way in the back; they're most difficult to reach. Follow the curve of enamel on every surface you can, three to four passes each.
• Where teeth meet, you may have to gently pull the floss to the gum line. Avoid sawing motions as that may damage soft tissue.
• Proceed from the back teeth to the center front. Then repeat the process on the other side.
• Rinse, and there you are.

If you find all this tedious or feel you're "all thumbs," a floss threader can help. Your dental hygienist can show you how to handle one. Just ask for help.

And remember, any amount of time you spend on plaque removal is time well spent for better dental health. The more time the better. If you have more questions or for more information, just call your dentist.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.